Heart of the Wild
by My Vantilene
Summary: Ventus thought spending the summer in Gravity Falls, Oregon with his twin sister, Naminé, and his Great Uncle Xehanort was going to be all picturesque lakes and enormous oak trees, but he couldn't have been more wrong.


If there's any sure-fire way to test a man's courage, it's a midnight stroll through Gravity Falls' fogged forest.

Of course, it's not exactly midnight when he departs, but it's so dark and time moves so differently, that he honestly can't tell if it's earlier or later than twelve. Grunkle Xehanort said the "excursion" was to prove his strength, and Ventus didn't question how a plain, old Oregon forest was supposed to succeed in that because his great uncle was an old coot and that was the kind of thing old coots said. He really understood that Xehanort only wanted the signs put up, or else no tourists would even really know where it was. But now he thinks Xehanort isn't crazy, rather he's perfectly capable of logical thinking, and only exists to disentangle whatever is left of Ventus' life.

The last time he came to visit his great uncle Xehanort was only a year or two ago, but oddly enough, the only thing he could really remember was the death glare he got on the way in and on the way out. He brushes it off as nothing, because even he's not entirely blind to how forgetful he is. Maybe he'll ask Naminé about it if he makes it back to the shack. _When_ he makes it back to the shack.

He has no idea how long he's really been working for, but he supposes he deserves a break, something to take his mind off of his muted fear. He picks up a stick and carves the air with it. He loves the sound wind makes when stirred, of a blade slicing through the breeze. He's always wanted to sword fight. It looks like so much fun, so he pretends to spar with the nearest tree. The whizzing sound is beautiful in his ears, but it's brought to a discordant close as the tree emits a metallic slam upon contact. He drops the stick and examines the tree.

There are unnatural ridges in the form of a square, indicating there's a way to open the faux-tree, but it's nailed shut and Ventus can't find his way in. He upturns bushes, leafs through branches, and combs through the grass for any sort of key or screwdriver that could grant him access. He gives up on hanging signs, completely infatuated with the suspicious, artificial tree. He can't, however, find anything of use after searching every inch of forest floor in the tree's vicinity. Knowing no one would really care what hour he arrived back at the Mystery Shack, the blonde gets to work digging around the tree, using the signs as makeshift shovels. After what could've been minutes or hours or days, his sign-shovel lands on a worn, magenta book, accidentally ripping the cover of it in the process. He picks it up and moves his hand to dust the dirt off of it, only to find that there is none. It's as clean as can be, as if it was preserved in an airtight casket. Maybe he's holding a dead book.

He starts to read the first page aloud.

"Books are sturdy things. Journals are even sturdier. You can fill it with secrets and bizarre observations, your deepest wishes and darkest fears and they won't judge you for it. People will laugh if you ever tried to confess such things, but a journal does not mock you. They are naturally great confidants. Their only flaw is that they do not know how to keep the secrets written in their pages. Anyone could read this, anyone could find this, and they can laugh.

But then they won't know what I know."

His curiosity thoroughly piqued, he leafs through the rest of the book, but nothing is as personal and bias as the first entry. It's all articles about things his attention span just doesn't care for. He finds another passage written in scraggly, fast print near the back of it.

"He's tried to negotiate the deal in his favor for quite some time now, but today is the first day he has brought my research into it. I can't say this isn't something I haven't expected. His opinion and outlook on certain things have always been a treasure to me. But I fear that once he is aware of that, it will be far too late to erase the notion. He'll know that I need him. And he'll start making demands I'll be forced to obey. I've found that in Gravity Falls —"

"Whatcha readin', Ven? Is it any good?" asked an amused voice from behind.

He released a garbled scream and involuntarily flipped the book around in his hands as the voice drew nearer still.

Okay, so voice is too formal and distant a label for someone he's spent his whole life with. Her name is Naminé Strife, his five-minute-older twin sister and he is at a complete lost at the fact they ran into each other in such an enormous forest.

"Oh, it's just one of those books Grunkle Xehanort sells at the Mystery Shack. Don't tell him, please, I don't want to get in any trouble."

"The thought never even passed my mind." She says with a dismissive air, sitting down next to him on the trunk of a fallen tree, "So, what's the book about?"

"Nothing special."

She frowns slightly.

"Just Gravity Falls facts."

Her brows furrow.

"Stuff they feed gullible tourists."

She rubs her arm absently.

"Oh?"

"Um, yeah."

She comes to an abrupt stand, rattling the log with the subtraction of her weight. Shock settles on her features.

"Um, Nami, are you okay?"

"I've never resorted to talking." She states disbelievingly.

"Uh. What?"

"Ven, I can count on my fingers the amount of times you've tried to hide something from me. And before today, there were no fingers on the how-many-times-you-haven't-caved hand. Whatever it is you're keeping from me, it's huge." She shrugs a moment and starts walking off in the opposite direction, "I suppose you have your reasons."

"Naminé, wait!"

"We'll talk later." She says simply. Ventus runs after her, but she knows full and well that she's running too. Together they race back to the shack, because he knows via twin-spidey-senses that the woods are threatening to make even someone like her lose composure.

* * *

He explains what happened in sparing detail once they're back inside and safe. Naminé doesn't look the least bit surprised at the revelation, apparently the fact that he'd keep something from her came as more of a shock than what he was actually keeping. She herself said it was huge, and now she was acting like it was no big deal!

Or maybe she didn't believe him.

She never did when it really counted.

"And do you have any identification that the writer exists?"

"The book, Naminé, the _book_."

"I mean, that he was serious. You know Grunkle Xehanort probably could've written that and left it in the woods just to draw in customers."

"Does it look even remotely like his handwriting? Besides, I found it _buried_ next to a _metallic tree_."

"I never said you didn't."

"What are you hinting at?"

"I never said that you didn't, Ven! I am not doubting you!" she shouted, standing up with clenched fists on both sides, "It's just that you're gullible, okay? We're both just easily tricked!"

He recovered from his surprise and confusion fast enough to reply, "Who leaves something like this in the woods just in case someone finds it under a good three feet of dirt?"

"Nutcases do! You are reading something written by a _nutcase_ for _nutcases!"_

"Well, if you think I'm such a nutcase, why do you waste your intelligence talking to someone like me?"

She curtly turns on her heel and descends the attic stairs.

He ascends the latter to the roof.

* * *

Ventus Gainsborough loves his twin sister more than he does himself. He knows her, inside and out, backwards and frontwards, however, he's never been able to get a good read on her emotions. It's hard to know when she's joking and when she serious, or when she wants to be alone and when she wants to be surrounded, but when he ran into her in the woods, he knew something was wrong. He just didn't know what kind of comfort to offer. So he offered the comfort of distraction, but that backfired spectacularly.

Ventus Gainsborough loves his twin sister more than he does himself. But he knows all he is to her is some annoying five-minute-younger brother she's always stuck with. Naminé's always been a brilliant student, the top of her class no matter what competition may blow in and try to deter her. Ventus has always been at the bottom. Well, okay, maybe not the bottom, _bottom_, he'll give himself that. He hasn't been in remedial classes thus far. He brings in C's and sometimes B's and sometimes D's. Naminé brings in A's.

He doesn't admire her for her brains alone, though. When they were younger, he assumed that she was the smart one and he was the strong one. She'd help him in math, and he'd protect her. But as it turned out, she was the strong one too. While Ventus and their mother changed both of their names back to Gainsborough after the divorce, Naminé kept the surname of Strife as a reminder. She wears her scars proudly like a battered veteran. That or maybe she thinks if she studies hard and passes the entrance exams, she'll go to Hardwood Academy and she'll be able to pretend she's not related to that dumb Gainsborough kid.

Twin? What twin? You really think I'm related to… _that_? How insulting! My name's Strife, remember?

It's only a matter of time, honestly, with her grades.

His friends are disbelieving when he tells them how much his twin hates him. They try to convince him how untrue it is, and after incessant examples and pestering on their part, he was starting to believe them. Maybe Naminé was content with him after all.

But then their mom and dad sent them to vacation in Oregon for the summer.

Ventus loved the idea. Out in the woods, near picturesque lakes and trees not even the most updated edition of Photoshop could enhance with his favorite person. The only shadow he'd have to live in for the summer would be hers.

Believe or not, there were other people bigger and brighter than Naminé and their shadows were enormous. Getting away from all that, even if it is just one summer, would be a dream come true.

Naminé couldn't disagree more.

"_But Mom, I don't want to go to Gravity Falls!"_

"_Oh, honey. You know Ven has been so looking forward to this."_

"_I don't care!"_

"_Well, then, neither do I."_

"_So I don't have to go?"_

"_You're going."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I said so? Yeah, because I said so."_

"_Please can I not?"_

"_Is this about New York? I told you next summer."_

"_But I miss him!"_

"_I can't make everyone happy. There are going to have to be some compromises."_

"_But I'm always with him!"_

"_He needs you."_

_There was a moment of silence._

"_Yeah, well, the last thing I need is him."_

"_You don't mean that."_

"_I do. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him! Being with him is just such a burden, you don't get it, you don't know what it's like to have such a helpless twin! I can't get away from him, he's always there, he always needs something, I can't take it anymore, okay? You'd be wise to clean up after the mess your own fooling around made. The divorce screwed him up bad and I'm done trying to pick up the pieces."_

Ventus brought his knees closer to his chest and shivered, not even paying an ounce of attention to the meteor shower overhead. Maybe coming up here wasn't such a great idea; the moisture in his eyes is turning to icicles on his lids.

"Ven, there you are."

He freezes.

"You know I come up here sometimes after work. I've got a spot set up on the other side, come on, I'll show you."

Aqua grabs his arm and leads him around to the front, where two chairs and a cooler are conveniently placed. He sits in one, still lost in thought, and Aqua fishes two sodas out of the cooler, handing one to Ventus and keeping one for herself.

"What happened?" she asks quietly, "I've never seen you two fight. I didn't think twins could do that."

"Yeah, well, we are two different people. Sorry we're not exactly the finish-each-other's-sentences twins as seen on TV."

She gave a small laugh. It was such a melodious laugh.

"No, no, it's fine. I'd be a bit scared if you were, to be perfectly honest. That kind of stuff freaks me out. It's just that I thought you two got along famously."

"Can't when she hates me so much."

"She doesn't hate you." She says as if she's repeated it the entire evening long.

"It doesn't look like it. Naminé's too strong and too cynical to trust anyone who isn't him with her problems. She never opens up to anyone let alone —"

"A nobody like me?"

"That, uh, that wasn't exactly what I was —"

"No, it's cool, man, I get it. I talked to her and you know what I think the problem is? You overanalyze the situation. You think she's some impossible riddle that needs solving, when she's really just a girl who needs her brother."

"Tch."

"Did I strike a nerve?"

"I'm the last thing she needs." He clarifies, "She said so herself."

"We all say things we don't mean."

"Naminé's not like that. She's never made a mistake in her life."

"That's not true."

"It's not like I haven't heard that one before."

"Well, it's not. Maybe if you heard with your heart and not with your ears, you'd understand."

She stood up and stretched.

"She's chewing on her hair downstairs, worrying about you, just thought you should know. Well, I'm beat. Later, Ven." She grabs the top of a particularly flexible pine and rides it down to her car.

Ventus doesn't believe her. The only time Naminé has ever done something so childish was when Mr. Macho Shadow Himself moved to the big apple, but he's nothing if not gullible, so he ventures down the latter just to make sure.

Lo and behold, the blonde is sitting on the bed with her hair between her teeth. She's in such a heavy, thought-filled stupor she doesn't notice him come in.

"I'm sorry." He finally says after waiting a finite eternity for her to look his way.

He probably shouldn't have said anything, what if she didn't look his way because she was making a point of ignoring him?

After another finite eternity, though this one was undoubtedly longer, she brought her head up to look him in the eye.

Her cerulean eyes were red and puffy, glazed over and watery. Her bottom lip trembled and she buried her head in her hands, suddenly overcome with immeasurable grief.

Ventus stands there in shock for a while. Naminé's rarely ever cried. This must be huge, it can't be just him. It's something much bigger than him, if it's too big for someone like her to handle.

He slowly comes to sit on the bed and folds his hand over hers.

"I'm sorry I kept you from going to New York, I know you had your heart set on it."

She looks at him with a bewildered expression and uncharacteristically snorts.

"That's not why I…" she manages after a while, but it just degenerates into small, unfamiliar snorts.

"What? Did something happen? Is everyone okay? Where's Xehanort?" He jumps to his feet.

"Calm down, you goof." She punches him good-naturedly and he sits back down, "Remember how I told you I liked that kid who hangs around the Mystery Shack?"

Ventus nodded. She never really told him that she did, but it was a smidge too obvious.

"I got a note from him to meet me out in the woods, so I went and told him how I felt and he — I don't want to talk about it, actually." She says, her posture straightening as she moves her hand out from under his and wipes the tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry." He repeats, because he's at a loss at what else to do. He never presses like she does when it's him who won't tell her something.

"That's not actually what I'm upset over."

"Huh?"

She stood up suddenly and walked over to where the stairs begin.

"Come on, Ducktective or Tiger Fist? I could go either way."

"Huh?" he sputters.

"You in or not?" she smiles sadly.

He followed her unwittingly, because to do so wittingly would've been impossible.

* * *

The next day, Ventus spots the boy at the shack before Naminé does. The punk's trying to look casual by shifting through merchandise he'll never buy. It makes his blood boil.

He takes a deep breath, and by this point Naminé's noticed the unwanted presence as well. He walks quickly toward him at such a pace, it would be impossible for her to stop him while staying out of sight.

"Can I help you?" he asks, arms crossed.

"Yeah, actually. Do you know where Naminé Strife is?"

"I have a feeling that wherever she is, she sure doesn't want to talk to you."

"Oh. Really? I thought she… I mean, I'm sorry if I've done anything to make her upset. I just wanted to know if she wanted to go out some time. See, I really like her and this is kind of nerve-racking for me and I should've probably stopped talking a few sentences ago, but can you just tell her that I really, really want her forgiveness for whatever I did and —"

"Hayner?" Naminé asked from the threshold, looking completely shell-shocked.

He smiles sheepishly. So does she.

"But I thought —"

"I'm really sorry about yesterday. I wasn't thinking straight. Ever since you came here, I haven't been able to take my eyes of you. Can you just give me a chance?"

Ventus sent her a warning glare and shook his head slightly so as not to attract Hayner's attention, but at that moment, it would make no difference if he had sprouted two heads and done a back flip. No one was paying him any mind; their eyes were dead set on each other.

"I'd love to."

"Great. Are you free now? I mean, this is kind of sudden, but my older brother has the car running outside and I know this spot near the —"

"That sounds great." She says a little too fast.

"Shall we?" He extends his elbow out to her and she links her arm around his, accepting gesture.

"We shall."

Ventus watched through narrow slits as they vanish out the door.

"Naminé's got a date?" Demyx practically shouted as he burst out of the supply closet, buckets adorning his arms and a mop-headed hat resting atop his head.

"What were you doing in that closet? Hey, are you spying?"

"Beats working." He shrugs, "So who's the lucky dude? It's Hayner, isn't it? Someone said Hayner, I heard it."

"Yeah, it's Hayner."

"You don't sound too happy about it," he flopped down on the couch, "Come on, tell your shrink-pal what's eaten ya, kid."

He plopped down next to him.

"It's just…Hayner did something pretty brutal to her yesterday, and she just forgave him like that. I don't know, I just don't trust him."

"Well, what did he do?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"She never told me."

"Ah. Women."

"Sisters."

"Mhmm, those things too. But I don't know, if Naminé trusts him, I think he's okay. Did he seem like he was going to do something bad to her? No, wait, don't answer. I heard. He definitely did not sound like the kind of guy who would harm your sister. I think he just messed up asking her out yesterday and she read too much into it and got offended. We don't know the whole story."

"I'm not sure…Maybe I should tell Grunkle Xehanort."

"What's he going to do about it? Honestly, I don't think you should get into it with him."

"What do you mean get into it with him?"

He scratched the back of his neck, "Look, I don't know, just be careful, okay, kid? Can you do that for me?"

"Um, sure?"

"Good squirt," he smirked as he ruffled the blonde's hair and got up, "If things get too rough just give me a call." He said as stalked away, hands fitting loosely in his pockets.

* * *

The boring articles in the book apparently weren't that boring, Ventus discovered. His chores for the day were done and the eye-shaped bay window was the perfect reading spot. The book was interesting, but after a while, the lack of noise started to get to him.

"Wills are changed slowly over time unless confronted by rapid stimuli, where a change is demanded to happen. A different point of view or change in heart only alters perceptive. One's will is a completely separate part of a person, and throughout the entirety of my life, I've only seen it shifted once. Well, twice if you consider what I am about to record.

"I warn you, dearest reader of mine, to beware Lumïnes, the celestial beings of the sky, for they are vulnerable to emotions, and in turn make us vulnerable. They love with all their hearts and never forget a first love. They will chase after that one person for their whole existences. Lumïnes are not liable to fall in love with their own kind, however. They fall in love with humans and our humanity; a trait Lumïnes are incapable of having. Humans cannot see Lumïnes, so the only way they can have requited love is through possessing another human's body. Do not be deceived, though they are good-natured, they will stop at nothing for love. If someone has a radical change of will, possession by Lumïnes is a possibility. I should've seen it coming when a friend of mine was taken over by a Lumïne. And not just any Lumïne, I might add, but their very king. A king who wanted so much more than requited love. I also accused his child of being possessed as well, but I was gravely mistaken.

"Dearest reader, be wary of the Lumïnes, but most importantly, be wary of your own judgment. Do not repeat my mistakes, for there is a second case where change of will may happen. And that is when a boy becomes a man and owns up to his mistakes and wrong-doings. I say with a heavy heart that I have not yet experienced this change, and doubt I ever will, even though I see every young pupil I've ever had go through this metamorphosis into manhood. It is natural, I believe. Lumïnes are quite clearly supernatural. It is best not to mix the two.

Do not do anything rash. I cannot stress that enough, dearest reader, but I will tell you the Lumïne's weakness is water. In my experience, it's the only way to make one let go of a host without killing the host in the process."

Ventus stopped as he heard loud snoring from across the room. Demyx was half asleep on the burgundy couch. It was the loudest anyone could ever be without running their mouth.

"Um, Demyx?...Demyx!"

"Yeah, huh," his head bobbed up and out of the clutches of sleep, "Sorry, just catching a few Z's before the master gets on me."

"The master?"

"Never you mind, kid. It's just a pet name. Now what were you saying about um…Lunas?"

"Lumïnes."

"Right, right. Those things."

"How long have you been here?"

"A while. I was going to interject and tell you that Naminé's date might be one of those Lumïne things, but you kept reading and reading and this couch is just so soft…has there ever been another couch this _soft_?" he asks absentmindedly, rubbing the fabric, "I doubt it."

"Okay…But that's just what you heard before you dozed off, the book says to be absolutely sure and to not do anything rash."

"Ven."

"Yeah?"

"I think you're going to do something rash, no matter what the book tells you."

Ventus looked him up and down.

Demyx sighed.

"At least take this with you." He hands the blonde a bat. Ventus nods.

* * *

Naminé has never felt happier in her entire life, not that she can remember much of anything before today. It's only been a couple hours, and Hayner has turned her whole life upside down.

He was perfect, absolutely perfect. The perfect gentleman, the perfect host, and hopefully the perfect boyfriend. Never has she felt so close to anyone who wasn't Ventus before. His older brother, Snow, had driven to the park, to his house, to the French restaurant on the edge of town, and now they were enjoying sea salt ice cream and the perfect sunset by the lake.

He was funny and charming and just _understood_. It was so nice to have someone who did.

"Alright, weirdest thought you've ever had?" he asked.

"How unabridged?"

"The Masoretic Text unabridged."

"Alright…well, you know how at the end of a video game it tells you your stats like how many enemies you've killed and what special attack you used the most..?"

"Yes, I'm quite familiar with the set up." He smiles, taking another salty-sweet bite.

"Well, when I die if they show me my stats, and it says how many miles I've walked, I know the number will be in the thousands. So when I get to heaven I'll be able to brag about that for eternity."

"You're right. That is kind of strange. You know, speaking of strange…are you sure you're okay with —"

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Mystery Shack's golf cart pull up.

"Hey, wait a minu—" before she could even get her warning in, Ventus jumped out of the golf cart and tackled Hayner to the ground.

"What on Earth are you —"

"Saving you!"

"Saving me from what? This is insane!" she shrieked as she watched the two blondes have it out. Finally, Ventus got the better of him and managed to push him into the lake. Hayner disappeared under its glossy surface.

"What the heck did you just do?"

"The book," he huffed, "Hayner's part of Gravity Fall's supernatural side."

"Oh, I knew that."

"And you still went out with him?"

"Well, he was honest about it."

"Don't you care about the real Hayner?"

"Um. What are you talking about? That is the real Hayner."

"I thought he told you."

"Yeah, he did."

"He told you he's a Lumïne?"

"He told me he was a…" she leaned in close, "…mermaid."

It was silent.

"You've got be kidding me."

"Well, not fully. He is half human. He turns into one when he touches water."

"But that doesn't explain why he was such a jerk to you yesterday."

"It does actually. He doesn't like to touch water because when he does, it makes him insatiably angry and destructive. Even when he does turn back, he's a bit volatile for a couple days. He was just angry yesterday and messed up asking me out because of it. I thought he said things that he really didn't say. No big deal."

"Um, insatiably angry and destructive?"

They both turned back around.

The sky grew gray and the wind was pregnant with rage as it blew. The whole lake gathered into one tornado-esque body, fishers and fish alike caught in its grasp. Rain fell down in drops the size of guinea pigs, wet and hard, lightning and thunder emptied from the clouds as well, animosity ringing as a second force in the open air. The water didn't stop and the soil was quickly flooded. The bank couldn't support their weight, and sent them both tumbling into the lake, and spinning into the small hurricane like toppings on a swirled vanilla cone. Ventus sputtered and shook his arms wildly as water filtered into his mouth. Dark spots clouded his vision and the roar of the vindictive water heralded his unconsciousness.

* * *

When Ventus awoke, he sputtered and coughed out his organs on the wet grass. Some way away from him, Hayner was holding on to Naminé, apologizing profusely.

"I forgive you, Hayner. I know it's not your fault, but…" she looked at the choking blonde pointedly, "I wouldn't be able to date you knowing that you purposefully hurt my brother. I'm sorry."

"I…I understand. But you know you're the only one who can calm me down, Naminé. When you smile, when you laugh, when we touch, I'm not angry at all. I've never felt that way before, please."

"I'm really sorry, Hayner, but I made a promise a long time ago and I am dead-set on keeping it."

"I get it. I'm not going to force you to, but…If you ever change your mind," he stood up and began to walk off, "you know where to find me."

"What happened to you two?" Grunkle Xehanort asked when the twins returned back to the shack.

"I don't want to talk about it." They both said in harmony.

_AN:_

_I just wanted to get the word out about my writing-specific tumblr under the same penname, myvantilene. Just in case anyone wants to ask any questions or request book reviews, which I'll be more than happy to do. I also link updates there, so you'll be the first to know when something new comes out or when this updates. There's a waiting period between when I publish something and when FF normally alerts you, so following me on there is better than subscribing to this story. _

GSV DVZHVO IFMH ZG NRWMRTSG.


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